Only two years ago Phillip Phillips was standing on the stage at the Nokia Theater in a confetti shower after being named
"American Idol" Season 11's big winner. Now, he's performing on the Season 13 finale as a guest artist.

Phillips tells
Zap2it on the red carpet at the "Idol" finale that he was still just as nervous this week, as his second album, "Behind the Light," was released.

"I'm always nervous about it. It's like the first album," he says. "I don't even like listening to my albums, but I have to practice because I'm about to go on tour. It's weird listening to myself, if I could get my voice taken out and just to the music... But I'm excited and I think the album is awesome. It has a lot of personality to it, music-wise and lyrically. I just hope everyone else likes it."

Having gone through the "Idol" gauntlet himself, Phillips has some advice for newly crowned winner Caleb Johnson (and runner-up Jena Irene): "Keep doing what you love and know what you want out of your career as an artist and don't worry about what anyone else says or thinks."

And there's one piece of advice he wishes he would've heard too: "I kind of learned it on my own, basically, but you have to watch out for your own career," he says. "Trust people for sure, but be into everything -- be it choices for clothing or whatever it might be -- be a part of everything and give input."